Boston Red Sox top-30 prospect rankings after the 2021 season

No. 3: Red Sox shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer

The Red Sox had the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. They were poised to get a great prospect. No one dreamed that they would somehow land Marcelo Mayer though. The shortstop was seen as the top prospect in the draft, by a large margin. That’s not insulting any of the other prospects either – Mayer is just that good.

Just how high is everyone on Mayer? MLB already has him listed as the top prospect in the Red Sox organization and the ninth best prospect in all of baseball. That’s absolute insanity. The sky is the limit. Superstar potential.

As of right now though, I don’t really have all that much to go off of. He’s an 18-year-old left handed hitter with a phenomenal build that could allow him to help the team in any number of ways. Great defensive potential and insane offensive potential. It’s all there.

Mayer appeared in 26 games (91 at-bats) for Rookie Ball this year. He slashed .275/.377/.440 with four doubles, one triple, and three home runs. Mayer also drove in 17 runs, scored 25 more, and stole seven bases.

Next year he’ll likely start his season in Low-A, and it will be extremely entertaining to watch what he does there and where he can go in 2022.

For now though, we have to go with projections based off of a small sample size. Mayer has an amazing bat. He has the potential to be a .300-ish hitter. Not only that though, but he can add 40-ish doubles and 25 home runs while doing it. This will help him to put up some fantastic run production as well.

The speed is decent. It isn’t a game-changer, but it’s decent. He could steal a few bases and certainly won’t shy away from extra-base hits. If Mayer can add 10 steals to the rest of his game, that’s just unfair.

Defensively, there’s a lot to love. Mayer has a smooth glove, good range, great footwork, and a strong and accurate arm. There really isn’t much to complain about in this area. Has the potential to be a Gold Glove winner at shortstop.

Overall, it’s hard to judge Mayer too much right now. However, there is a reason everyone is so high on him. Boston somehow landed the best prospect in the last draft and everyone in Red Sox Nation should be absolutely thrilled about that. In a few years, he could be a household name across the league.

Hit: 65
Power: 60
Run: 50
Arm: 60
Field: 65
Overall: 60